Members of the IMM AWAN ITS team who competed in the 2021 international Invention Competition for Young Muslim Scientists (IICYMS)

ITS Campus, ITS News – The current state of the Covid-19 pandemic can encourage students of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh November (ITS) to give birth to various innovations. This time, the creation came from five ITS students who initiated a fruit sterilizer to maintain fruit freshness and reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19.

They are Ariq Ahnafalan Syakban from the Environmental Engineering Department as team leader, Andika Surya Hadiwinata, Idha Nurmalita Sari, Rajendra Lokeswara, and Jamaluddin Hakim from the Instrumentation Engineering Department. The latter are members of the IMM AWAN team. They innovated the use of ultraviolet (UV) light and ozonation on a fruit sterilizer called FUZER (Fruit Sterilizer) to maintain fruit freshness and reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19.

Idha Nurmalita Sari, one of the team members, said that the innovation arose because of her team’s anxiety about spreading the Covid-19 virus. One way to reduce the spread of Covid-19 is to eat fruits to maintain the body’s immune system. “However, it could be that the fruit has been contaminated by the Coronavirus, so FUZER is here to solve the problem,” he said.

The student from Purwokerto explained that the FUZER is composed of several components, including UV light, ozone generator, Peltier cooler, CPU fan, Arduino Uno R3, and temperature sensor. Then for how the FUZER works, it is enough to turn on the tool for 30-45 seconds. “In that time frame, ozone generators, UV rays, and Peltier coolers will work to sterilize the fruit,” he explained.

The FUZER prototype was designed by the IMM AWAN ITS team to maintain fruit freshness and reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19

Idha believes that the FUZER designed by his team is more competent than other products because viruses and harmful bacteria can be removed with the FUZER much faster. He continued that ozone generators, Peltier coolers, and UV lamps can cause relatively rapid temperature changes. “So it can cause the bacteria in the fruit to die faster than just using a regular heating system,” he added.

Idha admitted that during the FUZER work, the IMM AWAN team had experienced problems in making the prototype. This was due to the pandemic, which limited the team’s space for movement, thus making it difficult for the team to find the components needed. “However, with good coordination, the FUZER prototype can be completed on time,” he added.

The hard work of the IMM AWAN team has succeeded in producing proud achievements in the 2021 International Invention Competition for Young Moslem Scientists (IICYMS) event some time ago. The innovation, entitled Fruit Sterilizer (FUZER): Fruit Sterilizer Using Ozoneization Method and the Use of UV Light to Improve the Freshness of the Fruit and Reduce the Risk of Spreading Covid-19 successfully led the team to a bronze medal.

The IMM AWAN, ITS team, is currently presenting their innovations in the 2021 International Invention Competition for Young Moslem Scientists (IICYMS)

In the future, the team, which is guided by a lecturer from the Instrumentation Engineering Department, Ir Ahmad Fauzan Adziima ST MSc, hopes that the FUZER innovation can be further developed to be applied in everyday life. “That way, this FUZER can help the community to avoid the transmission of Covid-19,” he assured. (ITS Public Relation)

Reporter: Tyara Novia Andhin